Case of Anti-Sikh Riots: Lieutenant Governor Saxena of Delhi Authorizes Making a Plea Against the Acquittal of Six Accused

Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena of Delhi has finally granted his assent for the Aam Admi Party (AAP) to file a Supreme Court appeal challenging a High Court ruling clearing six defendants in the 1984 anti-Sikh riot case.

In light of this, the Home Department of the AAP-led Delhi government will now appeal to the Supreme Court against the ruling of the High Court on July 10, which denied the government’s appeal of the trial court’s decision and exonerated all of the defendants.

Hari Lal, Mangal, Dharampal, Azad, Om Prakash, and Abdul Habib are the six defendants in this case.

What was noticed by LG Saxena?
LG Saxena concluded that, despite the seriousness of the situation, incidents of this kind of crime against humanity are handled quite casually and often.

He also emphasized on Tuesday the necessity for strict action against the authorities involved in such incidents and the need of treating excessive and preventable delays with serious consideration.

Additionally, Saxena gave the Home Department instructions to pinpoint the negligent officials who delayed the filing of the appeal with the Delhi High Court and to provide a report on their actions within a week.

In a related case, the Lieutenant Governor had already given permission to appeal the acquittal of twelve individuals in a different anti-Sikh riot case that was filed with the Nangloi police station to the Supreme Court.

The case concerns the accused’s attempt at murder, looting, and rioting during the unrest that followed former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s death by her bodyguards on October 31, 1984, in the Saraswati Vihar Police Station (now Subhash Place) neighborhood in northwest Delhi.